China, one photo every day

[willliu]

Best thread on China I have ever seen.

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.20









Shanghai


This boats sail up and down along the Bund in Shanghai with these video screens advertising movies, products and all sorts of things. No more words. Simply stunning!!

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.21












Shanxi


The most holy land of Chinese Buddhism, Mt. Wutaishan lies in Wutai County in Xinzhou Region, Shanxi Province.
It is said that this mountain, one of the four holy Buddhist Mountains, is the dwelling place of Manjusri Bodhisattva. 360 temples were built here dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) but now only 47 of them exist. Over the years, incalculable numbers of pilgrims and visitors have come here. Among these magnificent temples, five are the most famous and Xiantong Temple is one of them.
Xiantong Temple has the longest history and is the most prestigious. Occupying an area of 80,000 square meters (95,682 square yards), it was built initially in 68, during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), with the additions built by succeeding dynasties. Now it plays the most important role among the temples, therefore, the Buddhist Association of Mt. Wutaishan is situated there. The court-styled construction of it includes seven palaces, in one of which Wenshu (Manjusri) Bodhisattva's statue was engraved and worshiped. The copper bell in front of the gate is the biggest bell on the mountain, with a weight of 9,999.5 jin (22,045.9 pounds). Its toll can be heard around the entire mountain.

[napolit]

This thread is so .... amazing!!!! I love it, I have learn so many things and I have known so many new places that I have felt how if I were travelling around these places you knew , thanks very much to share with us these beautiful pictures and to teach us a lot of things .

[phoenix3d]

wow, it takes me 1 day to download all of the pics!!!

I am a Chinese but had rarely opportunities to travel around. After viewed those pics, my long term goal is: Working hard to earn money and travelling around hardly one day haha

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.22



The Genie valley






and a view of the Shaluli Mountains






Sichuan


The Shaluli Mountains, a mountain range between the Jinsha and Yalong River Rifts, are located in southeastern Tibetan Plateau.
Mt.Genie represents the highest peak of the Shaluli mountain chain at 6204m. above sea level within the area of Litang of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is a young mountain that rises abruptly due to the uplift movement of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau since the Tertiary.
The north slope is precipitous with craggy and bare giant rocks while the south is snow-capped. Icebergs stand like trees in a forest. East of it, moraines and glacier lakes come into view. This therefore, is the most centralized area of glacial lakes in Sichuan.

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.23






Tianjin


It seems Vienna or Paris but it is Tianjin Grand Plaza, a large entertainment complex with an opera House, western restaurants, bars, and KTV. It is located at Guangrong Lu, Hongqiao District in Tianjin.

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.24









Tibet


Dekyi Shar Lam also known as Beijing Dong Lu, is the main street in Lhasa. There's an amazing view of Potala Palace from this street so it's easy to see tourists and many nutcake sellers around there.

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.25









Xinjiang


Xinjiang is a region of striking contrasts. Being so far from the sea, the Turpan Basin is the lowest, driest and hottest place in China. At night, the cold winds can freeze you. The changing seasons also bring exquisite beauty to the different terrains and regions of Xinjiang. Even the Flaming Mountain becomes calm and charming in winter.
Despite the predominance of arid land, Xinjiang is able to supply power and an abundance of fruits and agricultural products to the whole of China. The strong winds of the desert are being harnessed for electricity. The highway between Urumqi and Turpan is flanked by thousands of giant modern windmills. Turpan now has the world’s largest wind-powered power generation station.

[TigarZg1]

Amazing photos...

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.26









Yunnan


Baoshan (保山) is a prefecture-level city in western Yunnan province. It is located between the border of the Myanmar and the river Mekong, in a cattle-rearing area.
The village of Baoshan is perched on top of a stone mesa overlooking the Yangtze River. Rice and wheat terraces extend 2000 feet up valley and provide a spectacular backdrop to this landscape.

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.27



Zhejiang


Ningbo, a laid-back, green city in coastal Zhejiang province, was a strong candidate to become the nation’s east coast financial, commercial and shipping center back in the 1980s when China began opening up to the world. Instead, that accolade was given to Shanghai. Ningbo, meanwhile, settled into a thriving niche as one of China's most successful high-tech manufacturing and import/export cities. Trade, rather than tourism, was its thing.
Ningbo (“Calm Waves”) is situated in the low-lying coastal plain on the Yong River, some 16 miles (25 km) upstream from its mouth in Hangzhou Bay, at the confluence where two tributaries, the Yuyao and Fenghua rivers, join the main stream. Ningbo was from an early period itself a port, although the mouth of the river was masked by a mud bar. It has an outport, Zhenhai, on the western bank of the estuary, which originally had been a fishing port.
The city’s original settlement was built at the confluence of the three rivers. This area, known as Sanjiang Kou (Mouth of Three Rivers), is the heart of modern Ningbo, with attractive gardens, riverside walkways, bridges, retail malls and the buzz of a city on the way up.

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.28












Have you seen the stairs?









Staircase down to the bottom of the Mystery Valley



This is the path along Xihai Gorge


















Anhui


The Xihai Grand Canyon, also commonly referred to as the Magic Scenic Area, is one of the most beautiful sites on Huangshan Mountain. Recently hiking trips through this canyon has becoming extremely popular. The hiking route for hiking through the Xihai Grand Canyon follows a "V" shaped route.
The two entrances of this tour, the Walking Fairyland Bridge in the south and the Cloud-Dispelling Pavilion in the north, have an elevation of 1320 and 1430 meters above sea level respectively, while the elevation of the canyon's lowest point, the Tianhai, north of Walking Fairyland Bridge, is just 600 meters above sea level. Beginning at either of the two entrances, a hike through the Xihai Grand Canyon is 9.6 kilometers long and takes approximately four hours. Starting at the entrance, hikers travel downhill deeper into the canyon. Once reaching the Tianhai (Haixin Pavilion), the lowest point of the hike, visitors will then begin to ascend until reaching the exit. Hiking the Xihai Grand Canyon is a bit of an adventure, so visitors are suggested to pace themselves and walk at a comfortable pace.
Surrounded by the hills in the Xihai Area, the Xihai Grand Canyon is the best place to view the bizarre rock formations of Huangshan Mountain. A hiking tour into this canyon follows stone steps, mountain roads, tunnels, and bridges. As the most beautiful and deepest part of Huangshan Scenic Spot, the Xihai Grand Canyon has never failed to inspire visitors.

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.29



Beijing


The Great Wall is a symbol of Chinese civilization, and one of the wonders that the Chinese people have created. Badaling Great Wall, the most representative part, was promoted as a key national cultural relic, protected under the approval of the State Council in 1961. In 1988, it was enlisted in the World Cultural Heritage Directory by UNESCO. July 7, 2007 has once again witnessed the worldwide reputation that the Great Wall gained: it was listed among the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Badaling Great Wall is situated in Yanqing County, over 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Beijing. It is the most well-preserved section of the Great Wall, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). This section with an average altitude of over 1,000 meters (3,282 feet) is the outpost of the Juyongguan Pass. The mountain slope is very steep and the roads are tortuous. These features made it a military stronghold. Badaling Great Wall is like a strong dragon winding its way along the mountain ranges.

[riasbaixas]

2008.11.30









Chongqing


Ciqikou (磁器口) is an ancient town in Shapingba District, Chongqing, originally named Longyinzhen (龙隐镇) and also known as Small Chongqing. People always said "One flagtone road, and one thousand years' Ciqikou". It was named as it had supplied large sum of chinaware dating during Qing and Ming Dynasty. It was a busy dock before, which located at the lower reaches of Jialing River. After a thousand years, the town now remains as a symbol and miniature of past Chongqing Jiang Zhou.
Three mountains, Jingbi Shan, Fenghuang Shan and Ma'an Shan lays in Ciqikou, while Fenghuang Quan and Qinshui Quan run across it. The geography of Ciqikou is considered to have a very perfect Fengshui by locale people.
According to the history records, Ciqikou was first built during the Emperor Zhenzong (998—1004). Then, it became a commercial dock both by land and water dating from Ming Dynasty. Reaching its climax during the end of Qing Dynasty, the town had ever been written in poem as "one thousand people greet each other during day, and ten thousand lamps flicker at night".

[riasbaixas]

2008.12.01

















Fujian


Hakka people were once guest settlers of Western Fujian and Eastern Guangdong. Hakkas are a unique ethnic group of Han Chinese originally from around the Yellow River area, who later migrated south to avoid the chaos of war centuries ago. Due to hostility towards the new immigrants, many were forced into the mountainous regions.
It was these inhospitable mountains that have forged the formidable culture of this unique Han people. They built their root on the land they chose to settle. They bound their families of grandparents, sibling and offspring and built mega dwellings, Tulou to house, encircle, and protect themselves. While they were doing this, some of them also continued to search for wealth else where outside China and brought back bacon from land afar to cherish their commune.
Many of these ancient tulou are named after famous people built by returning Hakkas.
It is this culture and traits that Hakka are so successful in many parts of the world, especially in South East Asian countries.
Stretching from Nanjing, Yongding, Longyan of Fujian to Meizhou in Guangdong, this guest settlers of the area built huge communal houses called Tulou or rammed earth buildings. They built temples, artifacts and theme parks to worship, commemorate and educate.
To see the master work of the Hu clan, first, people need to get to Chuxi, near Hukeng Township. Zhongchuan Village belongs to this cluster of tulou in Chuxi. Chuxi Tulou Cluster is located in the Chuxi village, Xiayang Town of Yongding County in Longyan City, Fujian Province. It consists of 5 round earth buildings and 31 square earth buildings, which makes up an important part of Fujian Earth Buildings that have been recently added in the World Culture Heritage List. It is inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage site 1113-001.
Chuxi Tulou Cluster is famous for its museum. This is the Tulou cluster that houses the biggest Tulou and Hakka folk museum in China. In the most complete Hakka's folk-custom museum of China, there are more than ten thousands folk-custom cultural relics. From here, we can know about the historic origin of Tulou or earth building's construction and Hakka's folk-custom.

[riasbaixas]

2008.12.02



Gansu


Dingxi (定西) is located in central Gansu province, 98 km east of Lanzhou, giving it the nickname the "eastern gateway". The Wei River, a tributary of the Yellow River flows through the district and provides it with the majority of its water. Dingxi is semi-arid, with little precipitation. Even though sunlight here can be intense, temperatures are generally cool. The surrounding terrain is mostly loess hills and ravines in the north and highlands in the south.
Located on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, is an important cultural centre exhibiting more than 2,200 years of history. Several cultural relics of the Neolithic Age have been discovered in the city. It was a flourishing place of great importance on the Silk Road. After the establishment of the PRC, Dingxi Special District was set up and changed to Dingxi Region in 1970, and Dingxi City in 2003.

[Izvornjak]

Great pictures!

[MountMan]

Great photos

[SirAdrian]

These photos blow my mind, such a large country with so many diverse geological zones, climates and ecosystems.